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Archive:Krytani
"As long as mankind continues to exist, there will always be war. War defines us; it is the truest expression of our free will, of our indomitable drive for greatness. In the carnage of war we find ourselves tested by fire, we rechristen that which is 'evil' in ourselves as necessary, and we become intimately acquainted with a side of ourselves that most are unable...or indeed, unwilling, to understand. '' ''It is also ridiculously fun. Gentlemen...I like war." Krytani the Blightbearer, actual surname unknown, is a Sin'dorei death knight, a former Scourge captain and current member of the Stormrise Warband. Appearance In life, Krytani was pretty in an athletic sort of way, muscled perhaps a bit more heavily than most of her countrymen from intensive training with the axe and bow. Undeath, however, has long since caused those days to fade. The pale skin around her eyes has the consistency of cracked porcelain, with a spiderweb-like pattern of split skin that reaches all the way down to her jaw. Jet-black hair frames her face, matching surprisingly well with the black rings around her sunken eyes. A hint of her former appearance shines through once in a while, particularly when she grins in some or another fit of bloodlust, but by and large one would have to be particularly hammered to find her anything resembling attractive now. Being basically asexual, partly as a result of being dead, she has minimal desire to show off her figure (which is, admittedy, well-kept), and opts to wear full plate armor, commonly adorned with blades, skulls, and other intimidating motifs. The word "KILL" is frequently gashed into her breastplate, always mounted atop the image of a grinning skull. While she is proficient in the use of several weapons, Krytani is most commonly seen wielding a prodigious battle-axe.' ' History Early Life Very little is known about Krytani's life before she became a death knight, and she has proven entirely uncooperative when questioned about it. From her appearance it would seem she had only been an adult for a decade or so before scourgification. Despite her secrecy, she has let several minor facts slip regarding her past in various conversations: most notably, that she was a Farstrider stationed in Eversong, she fought in the Second and Third Wars (the former of which she lost her parents in), and her last fight as a living being was an ambush on several of the undead heading for the Convocation of Silvermoon. As her wounds currently do not heal naturally due to her state of undeath, the numerous scars on her body would seem to testify to participation in numerous battles prior to undeath. Apart from these things, nothing is known. Her social circle, her family, even her last name, are a mystery on which she refuses to shed any light, and as she rarely if ever visits Silvermoon, it doesn't look likely that anyone will recognize her. Krytani is assumed to have been killed and raised against her will on the night Silvermoon fell (like many of her runeblade-bearing countrymen), but like most suppositions, she has not confirmed this, and in fact tends to avoid the subject of her conversion as much as possible. Scourge Were she not an active (and useful) asset to the Horde at present, Krytani would absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, be facing arraignment for war crimes committed during her time in the Scourge. Even for a member of the Lich King's army, she swiftly proved to be exceptionally ruthless and bloodthirsty, resulting in swift advancement in the death knight ranks. Her career culminated in a promotion to the rank of captain, earning her a division of her own (the step up, surprisingly, did not come at the expense of her predecessor, at least not at her hands), and it was here that her bloodlust began to truly shine through. Sent to fight the Taunka resistance in the Borean Tundra, Krytani produced exceptional results that doubled as staggering atrocities, including a career-defining moment when her division arrived to reinforce a siege, proudly bearing the infants of the neighboring Taunka village on their pikes. When the Taunka situation was considered "suitably under control" (a verdict Scourge leadership would later regret delivering so early), the division was moved eastward into the Dragonblight to deal with the Nerubians of the Sundered Monolith, who had proven to be a thorn in the Lich King's side even before the reclaiming of the Frozen Throne. The majority of Krytani's Scourge years were spent in this campaign, and her time among the undead Nerubians yielded an interest in the culture of Azjol-Nerub. She picked up a passable bit of the language, along with portions of Nerubian lore and martial tactics, all of which served her well against the Sundered Monolith. Enough time was spent fighting in countless enclosed tunnels, particularly in the Kingdom of the Spider's shattered remains, that her knowledge and skill at close-quarters urban combat were honed to a razor-sharp edge. To this day, she is most comfortable when leading a detachment through a city or enclosed structure, rather than an open battlefield. Attempts to crush the rebellion were going suitably well when Krytani was rather abruptly called from the front and informed that she was being redeployed to face a new and urgent threat to the Lich King. Apparently, a substantial number of the Scourge's best death knights had broken away from his control, and several armies from the south were invading Northrend. Intrigued, Krytani linked up with a group of loyalists stationed at Naxxramas (which had managed to escape the initial onslaught of the living), and set to work defending the necropolis from waves of Azerothian invaders. Although many fell (and were subsequently added to the Scourge's ranks), the day would eventually come when something completely new piqued her interest. Horde That day came when the Stormrise Warband, freshly entered into the fray, assaulted Naxxramas on orders from Warchief Thrall. An entire wing's worth of troops were shredded attempting to stop the Warband's entry via the underside of the necropolis, and Krytani, a firm believer in doing things oneself if one wanted them done right, dropped a pack of crypt fiends on the group and charged into their midst with her battle-axe. A fierce melee ensued, with injuries and casualties on both sides, and the Blightbearer found herself in simultaneous combat against the Stormrise leader, Warcaller Zulbrii Manbreaker, and the Spellbreaker Alurius Brightsong. Although she held her own expertly, managing to keep the two entirely occupied as their fight spilled out to the necropolis' central platform, it slowly became evident that she would likely be overwhelmed. These members of the Horde fought with a savage, gleeful ferocity that she had rarely seen in her Scourge compatriots, despite the odds against them being anything but favorable. So it was that, seeing their determination, Krytani came to the realization that would result in her defection from the Scourge. It was not a shocked self-examination regarding what she was fighting for, nor a heartfelt discovery that these people had shown her what was good and right about the human spirit. No, it was much simpler than that: Krytani was bored out of her mind. Massacres and curbstomp battles were mildly enjoyable, but what she wanted was a real fight, and that was nearly impossible to get when one belonged to an army consisting of a legion of mindless corpses who employed little more than swarm tactics. Krytani desperately needed to experience a good war from the proper angle, something she'd been severely lacking while in the Scourge. So she made a proposal to her erstwhile adversaries, and one week later, was inducted into the Stormrise Warband and sent off to kill everything that wasn't wearing a Horde emblem...an arrangement with which she was more than comfortable. Currently, Krytani remains a valued member of the Warband, as much for her relentless cruelty and insatiable lust for warfare as for her strategic skills and knowledge of Scourge operations. Her teammates keep her at arm's length, knowing that the day they run out of enemies to sic her on is the day she'll turn on the Horde, and this is a completely suitable arrangement as far as she's concerned. Personality Socializing with the Blightbearer, on the rare occasions that she can be found outside the battlefield, is surprisingly less risky than one might expect. If otherwise unoccupied, Krytani is usually extremely calm and collected (a rather jarring contrast to her berserker-like personality in combat), and often able to be engaged in conversation, particularly about any of her few hobbies. This should under no circumstances be taken as an indicator that she is friendly by any means, merely that she doesn't remain in a constant state of unapproachable hostility. Not content to limit her misanthropy to races or factions, Krytani simply dislikes everyone, looking on her enemies as entertainment fodder and her allies as little more than floating weapons to abet her fun. Rare exceptions to this rule occur, mostly within the Warband, and she tends to show slight, if unsettling, affection towards those who earn her respect. Despite this, it's common knowledge among her erstwhile allies that, being a complete junkie for blood and carnage, she cannot stand the thought of a world without war or chaos. Such an environment would swiftly push her into boredom and eventually suicidal despair. As such, the day the Lich King and the Alliance are overthrown, Krytani's comrades are well aware that she will most likely be their next adversary. Krytani adores herbal tea, the hotter the better, and considers it her one vice outside of war. She also occasionally writes, mostly incomprehensible philosophy regarding the place of war and conflict in the sentient psyche. Category:Archived Characters Category:Archived